CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Frontier Communications Corp. shareholders have overwhelmingly voted to approve a plan to acquire Verizon's telephone access lines in West Virginia and 13 other states, Frontier said Tuesday.

 "This is a resounding vote of support from our shareholders," said Frontier CEO Maggie Wilderotter in a prepared statement. "This acquisition will be transformational for Frontier, giving us greater scale, a balance sheet approaching investment grade, and a fantastic platform for growth."

Wilderotter called shareholder approval of the proposed deal a "milestone." She said telecommunications firm hopes to complete the merger by the middle of next year.

The company's shareholders also approved a proposal to increase the number of authorized shares of the company's common stock and to issue those additional shares once the merger is approved.

"Our entire team is hard at work with their counterparts at Verizon to ensure a successful integration," Wilderotter said. "All of us at Frontier are looking forward to providing great products and services to our customers and to welcoming our new employees."

Meanwhile, the Communications Workers of America intensified its attack on the proposed purchase.

The union predicted Stamford, Conn.-based Frontier would suffer the same fate -- bankruptcy -- as three other companies that acquired operations from Verizon in recent years.

On Monday, FairPoint Communications Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after buying Verizon's landlines in three New England states as part of a $2.3 billion deal in 2007.

Hawaiian Telcom, the company Verizon sold its Hawaii operations to in 2005, and Idearc, which purchased Verizon's yellow pages, also have filed for bankruptcy.

The union said Frontier, like the other companies, wouldn't have the financial resources to operate an additional 617,000 phone lines in West Virginia.

 "This is a resounding vote of support from our shareholders," said Frontier CEO Maggie Wilderotter in a prepared statement. "This acquisition will be transformational for Frontier, giving us greater scale, a balance sheet approaching investment grade, and a fantastic platform for growth."

Wilderotter called shareholder approval of the proposed deal a "milestone." She said telecommunications firm hopes to complete the merger by the middle of next year.

The company's shareholders also approved a proposal to increase the number of authorized shares of the company's common stock and to issue those additional shares once the merger is approved.

"Our entire team is hard at work with their counterparts at Verizon to ensure a successful integration," Wilderotter said. "All of us at Frontier are looking forward to providing great products and services to our customers and to welcoming our new employees."

Meanwhile, the Communications Workers of America intensified its attack on the proposed purchase.

The union predicted Stamford, Conn.-based Frontier would suffer the same fate -- bankruptcy -- as three other companies that acquired operations from Verizon in recent years.

On Monday, FairPoint Communications Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after buying Verizon's landlines in three New England states as part of a $2.3 billion deal in 2007.

Hawaiian Telcom, the company Verizon sold its Hawaii operations to in 2005, and Idearc, which purchased Verizon's yellow pages, also have filed for bankruptcy.

The union said Frontier, like the other companies, wouldn't have the financial resources to operate an additional 617,000 phone lines in West Virginia.

It has asked the state Public Service Commission to reject the $8.6 billion deal. 

"FairPoint is the third strike in Verizon's campaign to unload a number of its operations onto smaller, obviously unprepared companies that end up taking on massive increases in debt to fund the deal," said Elaine Harris, a union spokeswoman.

"Sadly, FairPoint's bankruptcy underscores what we've been saying all along: These smaller companies aren't in a position to take on the size and volume of Verizon's operations."

Frontier officials have said the company is fully capable of acquiring and operating more landlines. Frontier has successfully added 1.3 million access lines across the U.S. during the past three year, the company has said.

Across West Virginia and the 13 other states, Frontier's wire lines would increase from 2.2 million to 7 million, if the deal closes. Frontier's employment would jump from 5,600 to 16,000 workers.

Frontier already operates more than 144,000 access lines for small business and residential customers in West Virginia.

The state Public Service Commission plans to hold hearings on the proposed sale on Jan. 12.

Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4869.